In 2005 the AFTMLA (Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations) developed its Professional Standards for Accomplished Teaching of Languages and Cultures. These were published in a special edition of "Babel" in February 2006. Among the recommendations contained in the document, there is a section headed Program Standards that…

The second part of an article that discussed official policies that foster favorable cross-cultural attitudes though language teaching and described a pilot project undertaken to see whether involvement in foreign language learning was an influential factor in cross-cultural attitudes presents results of the study. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the decline in the use of literature in foreign language instruction at the secondary level, despite the role literature plays in college level instruction. Describes a project in an Italian studies program that introduced units based on a number of canonical texts. (Author/VWL)

Challenges an earlier article that suggests replacing secondary level language learning with a general linguistics course. (Author/VWL)

This article notes the numbers of students in Australia enrolled in high school and college courses in Serbo-Croatian. Many of these have Serbo-Croatian ethnic or linguistic backgrounds. (CHK)

Since the Japanese writing system seems to frighten secondary school students as a compulsory study, the author recommends teaching only Romanized Japanese at the high school level. (PMP)

A discussion of Languages Other Than English (LOTE) curricula in Australia considers the country's social demographic composition, structure of educational provision, national language policies, state-level (particularly Victoria) curriculum design, and LOTE enrollment. (CB)

Addresses the challenge of using the target language as the medium of instruction to teach a second language to secondary learners. The article examines teachers' concerns regarding teaching in the target language and suggests practical teaching strategies, including instructing students to listen closely, to watch for visual cues, to watch each…

Discusses the language problems in Roch Carrier's French Canadian short stories, as well as his concise, nostalgic writing style. The article gives examples of vocabulary in his characters' dialogue; reviews the evolvement of French in Quebec and the question of "joual," in particular; and focuses on expressions posing difficulty for Australian…

Reflects on the achievement in math and science of Australian students in an immersion French program. The immersion math students outperformed mainstream students at a level not significantly different, and by the end of the first year, the science students performed as well as their mainstream counterparts, indicating that immersion students…

Examines how low achieving Australian students fit into the foreign language classroom beyond Year 7, and whether the course content or teaching method should be altered. Reviews the students' reasons for continuing language study, their feelings about certain teaching and learning strategies, exercises and activities, their perceptions of their…

As Australian teachers negotiate a curriculum in which languages other than English assume the status of key learning area, and as the impact of this development becomes more tangible, language teachers will need to embrace change. Self-directed learning will be significant within this context and self-access packages will provide students with…

Focuses on the challenges associated with the introduction of language education in a secondary classroom containing learners of diverse backgrounds. Presents the results of action research of two groups of girls studying French. Findings indicate that a large group of learners can develop language skills through pair work and group activities and…

Describes a study of the teaching of junior secondary French in Queensland schools. The key questions in the study regarding how communicative Australians are and should be are considered through empirical data collected in four junior secondary French classes over two years. The study involved observation and analysis of classroom interaction.…

Relates and compares two successful approaches to the teaching of the Indonesian language and culture at two high schools in Canberra, Australia. Describes the organizational differences between the two schools; the design, structure, method and implementation of the two programs; and the advantages and disadvantages of both. (SED)